Natural springs that produce water containing minerals
The Mineral Spring
, etching by
Wenceslas Hollar
(1607?1677). The unidentified central European spring features a sunken stone basin and ornamental retaining wall.
Tourists and pilgrims having a bath in a hot spring in
Gurudwara
Complex,
Manikaran
in
Uttrakhand
state of
India
, c. May 2009.
A chalybeate (iron-laden) mineral spring at
Breznik
,
Bulgaria
Tap tapan spring in Azarshahr, Iran
Mineral springs
are naturally occurring
springs
that produce
hard water
, water that contains dissolved
minerals
.
Salts
,
sulfur compounds
, and
gases
are among the substances that can be dissolved in the spring water during its passage underground. In this they are unlike
sweet springs
, which produce
soft water
with no noticeable dissolved gasses. The dissolved minerals may alter the water's taste.
Mineral water
obtained from mineral springs, and the precipitated salts such as
Epsom salt
have long been important commercial products.
Some mineral springs may contain significant amounts of harmful dissolved minerals, such as
arsenic
, and should not be drunk.
[1]
[2]
Sulfur springs smell of rotten eggs due to
hydrogen sulfide
(H
2
S), which is
hazardous and sometimes deadly
. It is a gas, and it usually enters the body when it is breathed in.
[3]
The quantities ingested in drinking water are much lower and are not considered likely to cause harm, but few studies on long-term, low-level exposure have been done, as of 2003
[update]
.
[4]
The water of mineral springs is sometimes claimed to have
therapeutic
value.
Mineral spas
are resorts that have developed around mineral springs, where (often wealthy) patrons would repair to "take the waters" ? meaning that they would drink (see
hydrotherapy
and
water cure
) or bathe in (see
balneotherapy
) the mineral water. Historical mineral springs were often outfitted with elaborate stone-works ? including artificial pools,
retaining walls
,
colonnades
, and roofs ? sometimes in the form of fanciful "Greek temples",
gazebos
, or
pagodas
. Others were entirely enclosed within
spring houses
.
Types
[
edit
]
For many centuries, in Europe, North America, and elsewhere, commercial proponents of mineral springs classified them according to the chemical composition of the water produced and according to the medicinal benefits supposedly accruing from each:
Deposits
[
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]
Stepped
travertine
terrace formations at
Badab-e Surt
,
Iran
Types of
sedimentary rock
? usually
limestone
(
calcium carbonate
) ? are sometimes formed by the
evaporation
, or rapid
precipitation
, of minerals from spring water as it emerges, especially at the mouths of hot mineral springs. In cold mineral springs, the rapid precipitation of minerals results from the reduction of acidity when the CO
2
gas bubbles out. (These mineral deposits can also be found in dried lakebeds.) Spectacular formations, including terraces,
stalactites
,
stalagmites
and 'frozen waterfalls' can result (see, for example,
Mammoth Hot Springs
).
One light-colored porous
calcite
of this type is known as
travertine
and has been used extensively in
Italy
and elsewhere as building material. Travertine can have a white, tan, or cream-colored appearance and often has a fibrous or concentric 'grain'.
Another type of spring water deposit, containing
siliceous
as well as
calcareous
minerals, is known as
tufa
. Tufa is similar to travertine but is even softer and more porous.
Chaybeate springs
may deposit iron compounds such as
limonite
. Some such deposits were large enough to be
mined as iron ore
.
See also
[
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]
References
[
edit
]
- Cohen, Stan (Revised 1981 edition),
Springs of the Virginias: A Pictorial History
,
Charleston, West Virginia
:
Quarrier Press
.
- LaMoreaux, Philip E.; Tanner, Judy T, eds. (2001),
Springs and Bottled Water of the World: Ancient History, Source, Occurrence, Quality and use
, Berlin / Heidelberg / New York: Springer-Verlag,
ISBN
3-540-61841-4
, retrieved
13 July
2010